Situated along the bank of river Chambal in Rajasthan, Kota is a growing city widely known for its industries and for being the coaching hub of India because of the huge concentration of engineering and medical coaching institutes.
In today's episode we are out on a breakfast tour with our young and dynamic host Saransh from Parindon Ka Safar, a youth centric community involved in travel, culture, heritage and arts based activities. With great enthusiasm we had set out to explore some old and famous places with someone who knows the city very closely. Let's take you through the breakfast scene in the streets of Kota.
Our first stop was Ratan Sweets and Namkeen. It's undoubtedly the most popular namkeen shop whose fans are from far and near. We tried some of their wide range of sev and nylon khaman. Their freshness and well balanced flavours came through well.
The second stop was Lalchand Agarwal Samose Wale. Locals swear by the fresh samosa and kachoris sold over here and one morsel of a hot samosa was enough for us to understand why it's so.
The third stop was Mohan Lal Sev Wale which is reportedly an over 100 years old establishment. We tried some kadke and water chestnut burfi at this nondescript place. Both of them were quite decent in taste.
The fourth stop was Sharda Mishtan Bhandar whose ghewar are much loved by the locals. They have a wide range of ghewar available all throughout the year. We tried the dried one with mawa and to our surprise it was delightful.
The fourth stop was Shambhu Mishtan Bhandar where we polished off a serving of doodh jalebi in a tall steel tumbler. The crisp and luscious crushed jalebis mixed with reduced milk was a brilliant combination.
The fifth stop was Suvalal Namkeen which is again a famous name for kachori and namkeen. The genial owner sweetly asks his customers how many kachoris they would want to have in one go. We found them to be decent ones in terms of taste.
The sixth stop was Agarwal Petha Bhandar. The petha workshop in their shop doles out fresh batches of this ash gourd based sweet daily. We loved the rose flavoured crunchy shahi petha that had just been prepared minutes ago.
The seventh stop was another busy kachori place Shyam Ji Kachoriwale, whose owner is known for being reticent and not very approachable. But his kachori served with chutney and curd are a hot selling thing.
The final stop of this charming food tour was Hari Om chai stall. This old tea stall seems like a slice from the past. The old furniture and ambience will take you back in time.